Senior portrait needs perfect pose, background and photographer

Sunday

Aug 14, 2011 at 12:01 AMDec 12, 2018 at 9:04 AM

Lindsay McManis had waited for this day for three years. David Neuse, one of Austin's got-to-have senior portrait photographers, was taking her picture.

Not just any picture, mind you, but her official senior portrait that will hang on the living room wall, fill a photo album, accompany her graduation announcements, beef up college applications and, of course, make her Facebook famous.

"This is a big deal, and it should be. I'm so excited, and everything is perfect. Tomorrow is my 18th birthday. This sets the stage for my senior year," said the Anderson High student. She'd wanted Neuse since he photographed her brother Ashton three years earlier, she said. "There was no question that David would take mine."

Three changes of clothes and 45 minutes later, she was done with the session, which will cost $460, which includes the price of retouched photos.

It's back-to-school time, and many seniors are doing photo sessions marketed as experiences customized to fit their style, personality and interests. Today's teens go to great lengths to get the perfect photographer, a professional makeup artist and the perfect backdrop and pose. Packages come with props and on-location settings.

And they are willing to pay for it.

Photographers like Dustin Meyer offer "commercial shoots" that last three to four hours.

"Our average sale for a senior is $1,200 to $1,500, but some parents have spent up to $5,000," Meyer said.

Teen girls drive the market, said Austin photographer Amber Snow . "For girls, it's the experience of getting their hair, nails and makeup done, and so they naturally enjoy it more. With guys, you get a feeling that their parents, especially the mom, made them do it. They just want to get it over with."

However, Ben Hull , who attends Westwood High School in the Round Rock school district, said he enjoyed his portrait experience. Neuse shot a head-and-shoulders portrait resembling a John Lennon portrait showing a half-lighted, half-shadow face.

"That photo is going right next to the one of Ben when he was 5," said Hull's mother, Kelley, who will pay up to $1,200 for the photos. "It's an investment," she said.

To get that perfect photo, teens do their research. Neuse, whose studio is at the Penn Field business complex on South Congress Avenue, has 22 years' experience specializing in portraits. His work has been published in The New Yorker, Teen, FHM, Bon Appétit and House & Garden magazine.

"By the time you get there, the expectations are high," McManis said. "He just makes you feel so comfortable. He encourages you, gives direction and even shows you how to pose. You feel special. His makeup artist, Vanessa, makes you feel like yourself, but you also feel like a model."

That makeup artist is Vanessa Smith, who spends 30 minutes "transforming" girls. Neuse relies on Smith to get the session off to a good start. "You don't want a rocky start to a session because these girls' hopes and dreams are in my hands," Neuse said.

Meyer and Snow do longer sessions in unusual settings in the downtown area, open fields and creeks.

"Kids are looking for what they see on TV, especially the clothes. They want everything from casual and relaxed to the cocktail dress they used at homecoming," Meyer said. "Boys like to be photographed in their environment, like near a diving board or baseball field."

Not everyone can afford a portrait photographer. Some seniors are happy with the contract photographer who is hired by their high school to produce their official photo for the yearbook, which is free. Seniors can opt for additional fun photos, which costs extra.

But seniors and parents who choose higher-end photographers say specialists like Neuse are worth the cost.

"This is something you are going to do only once," Kelley Hull said.

Ben Hull, who like Lennon is a musician , said he appreciates the uniqueness of his portraits.

"My photos showed who I am, what I do and what I love. I was very happy how everything turned out."

rgandara@statesman.com; 445-3632

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